The MSc by Research, or MSc (Res) degree, is an increasingly popular one-year Masters by research degree offered by St Andrews.The course is designed for those students and professionals who have a degree in Chemistry or a similar subject. It provides students with advanced knowledge and skills in modern chemical sciences with a major emphasis on laboratory skills and gaining high-level research experience.The research will be carried out in the laboratory of one of full-time academic staff members. You will be involved in the design, planning, implementation, analysis and write-up phases of a high-level research challenge. Through this degree, you will develop a wide range of practical and computational skills. <br>MSc (Res): a one-year research-based Masters degree. You will engage in a full-time research project and write a dissertation of up to 30,000 words. It is an excellent opportunity to spend a shorter time in a research environment either for a standalone degree or as preparation for a PhD.<br>As the 21st Century develops, functional materials present a major driver for scientific and technological progress. This exciting theme encompasses the design, synthesis, characterisation and rationalisation of a range of functional solids, with applications in energy conversion and storage, gas separation, sensors, information storage and cryogenic refrigeration.Interests in this research theme are application driven, and cover the synthesis and characterisation of novel materials, in some cases under extreme conditions. In-depth rationalisation using computational modelling often provides a detailed level of understanding to feedback to material design.<br>The design, controlled synthesis and application of functional materials is central to many fields of research, and so the Functional Materials theme impacts directly on other EaStCHEM research themes, particularly on Catalysis and Synthesis and Energy, Environmental, and Sustainable Chemistry. A vital first step in the design of advanced materials is understanding and characterising their structure on a range of lengthscales, and so researchers in the Functional Materials theme are often actively involved themselves, or through close collaboration, with work in the Structural Chemistry and Chemical Dynamics theme.